Tips for Writers by Redone
FeatureSummary:

We have all seen those stories that get no comments and those stories that regularly get a handful of comments per chapter. This series will focus on providing tips on how to be one of the latter, not the former!

reading

Newest Segment: Developing Minor and Supporting Characters


Categories: Admin Only Characters: None
General Warnings: None
Trigger Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 34 Completed: No Word count: 26875 Read: 105302 Published: Jan 19, 2015 Updated: Sep 11, 2017
Formatting - It makes a big difference by Redone

How your formatting your story doesn't really matter, right? Wrong. Ask anyone if they enjoy reading a wall of text and they are likely to answer with a side-eye and a straight No!.  How you format your story can change how clear your story is, how likely a reader is to find their eyes getting tired, and how likely that same reader is to feel wrapped up in the dialogue.  Rather than wax prosaic about this topic, I'm going to make this segment fairly simple by listing some "Oh noes" and how to remedy them.

oh noes

1. The Wall Of Text:Well written or not, without breaks, it's easy for perspective to get lost and dialogues to become confusing. (Note: this can also appear when dialogue is on different lines, but there is absolutely no spacing between lines). I already know some are saying "but that's my style". That's fine, just know that you lost a fair amount of readers because of a style, rather than your actual content. I peruse multiple resources in writing each segment, and this one is by far the most noted and despised faux pas.

Example:

Before we knew it, the terminal attendant was making the announcement for the final boarding group to make their way onto the plane, spurring us both pause in surprise. How had time passed so quickly? It felt like we had only just started to talk. "Um....." He looked around uncomfortably, "...I guess that I need to be going". "Me too...I'm sure that my plane will be boarding soon". The moment was awkward. Neither of us seemed eager to say goodbye, but at the same time, neither of us knowing exactly what to say. What do you say to someone you may never see again? Rolling slightly from his heels to his toes, Michael shifted his perfectly positioned hat, as though it had somehow fallen askew. This motion seemed to remind me of my own slightly clammy, fidgeting hands.  "I had a great time...." Self conscious, I look down as though suddenly interested in a hangnail, only to realize with this motion that perhaps he was as nervous as me. Maybe his interest went deeper than I had imagined. Ha! No. He's probably just lost as to how to politely say goodbye.

 

2. There is a valley between each line: When a reader has to constantly scroll to see the next line, it means that they are more likely to notice gaps in the story/dialogue and less prone to getting caught up in the momentum of the plot.

Example:

Before we knew it, the terminal attendant was making the announcement for the final boarding group to make their way onto the plane, spurring us both pause in surprise.

 

 

 

How had time passed so quickly? It felt like we had only just started to talk.

 

 

 

"Um....." He looked around uncomfortably, "...I guess that I need to be going".

 

 

 

"Me too...I'm sure that my plane will be boarding soon".

 

 

 

The moment was awkward. Neither of us seemed eager to say goodbye, but at the same time, neither of us knowing exactly what to say. What do you say to someone you may never see again?

 

 

 

Rolling slightly from his heels to his toes, Michael shifted his perfectly positioned hat, as though it had somehow fallen askew. This motion seemed to remind me of my own slightly clammy, fidgeting hands. 

 

 

 

"I had a great time....," I stated, trailing off as I grew uncomfortable with the heavy silence.

 

 

 

Self conscious, I look down as though suddenly interested in a hangnail, only to realize with this motion that perhaps he was as nervous as me. Maybe his interest went deeper than I had imagined. Ha! No. He's probably just lost as to how to politely say goodbye.

 

3. The Scene Changes Without Warning: without a visible and distinct break between POVs and scenes, readers can get left in the land of "wtf".

Example:

He wrapped his arms gently around my torso for what at first felt like an impersonal hug. Then, just as I was about to pull away, his grip tightened with urgency for a split second. If I had been distracted, I might not have even noticed it. As I walked away, I found myself kidding myself for trying to make something out of nothing. This was all in my head. It had to be.

Finally I was out of that airport. Thankfully my green, battered suitcase had been one of the first to get unloaded, so I might actually make my shuttle in time. Looking around me at the wall with directions as to where to find my AirStop shuttle, I notice a man holding up a sign with my name on it. Ha. I guess it isn't all that uncommon. I momentarily contemplated hanging around to see what she looked like when....

 

4. Everything looks the same.

Example:

la dee dah dee dah

-Flashback-

la dee dah dee dah

-Current time-

la dee dah dee dah

 


 

 

fixing it

 

1. One speaker per paragraph. This helps provide clarity as to who is saying what.

 

2. Provide a visible break between scenes. If you switch perspectives, settings, characters, you name it. Essentially any time you suddenly and dramatically switch scenes or POV, make a distinct marker. This helps prepare the reader to switch perspectives, making it less likely that they'll be stuck scratching their head. Pressing 'enter' a few times does not cut it. Think about putting a divider such as:

//// ~~~ "MJ's POV"  "December 3rd" ~*~*~* - - - - "after far too much shopping" o0o0o0o

 

3. Provide some spacing between paragraphs/speakers. This is usually accomplished by simply hitting the return button while typing on mjfiction

 

4. Use quotation marks around dialogue, remembering to close the quotation marks when the verbalized statement ends.

 

5. If including an author's note, put it in the opening chapter notes or the end notes. I've seen it put in the actual story text, which is a huge no-no. When an author does that, even when it is at the end of the chapter but still in the text, they disrupt the scene.

 

6. If doing a flashback, alter the text in someway. This will add to the reader's ability to differentiate past from present, so that eventually you can switch between past and present without actually having to use an explicit warning. The easiest way to do this is to establish that flashbacks are in italics, underlined, a different font, or preceded and followed by a horizontal ruler.

 

End Notes:

As always, let me know if I missed something or was too brief in covering a point. Thanks!

This story archived at http://www.mjfiction.com/viewstory.php?sid=6661